Stuttgart – Mercedes-Benz is
moving its Southern Californian advanced design studio from
Irvine to a newly-acquired, spacious facility near Carlsbad, in
order to strengthen its creative base in the U.S. At the new
Carlsbad facility, the styling masterminds pondering the car of
the future have almost three times more space in which to
realize their creative ideas. Thus, Mercedes-Benz is
underscoring the continually growing influence of the advanced
design studio on the internationally-oriented design strategy of
the world’s oldest vehicle manufacturer.

The new studio in Carlsbadis one
of a group of international advanced design studios that, as a
globally-oriented vehicle maker, Mercedes-Benz runs in places
such as Como, Tokyoand Sindelfingen, as well as in the U.S.The
studios are creative islands that are not subject to the demands
of series production, but instead allow designers to take
influences from their environments, to evaluate them and to
interpret them freely. Their inspirations provide important
momentum to the development of Mercedes-Benz design, which is
not oriented only towards the domestic market, but also takes on
board strange, new ideas from other continents and cultures that
fit to the Mercedes-Benz brand identity.

As part of its
internationally-oriented design strategy, Mercedes-Benz opened
its first advanced design studio in the U.S.back in 1990 in
Irvine, California. Since then the importance of the Californian
facility has grown to such an extent that the 1200 square metres
of rented space on Cowan Streetin Irvineare no longer
sufficient.

Therefore, Mercedes-Benz decided
to acquire the new building in Carlsbad, 80 miles south of Los
Angeles. With 3160 square meters, it even has enough space for
the construction of 1:1 models – something that wasn’t
previously possible. The move to the new creative centre on
Rutherford Road will begin in July 2008.

“The substantial enlargement of
our design studio in Californiabears testament to the growing
importance of design at Mercedes-Benz,” says Gorden Wagener,
Head of Strategic Advanced Design and future Head of Design for
Mercedes-Benz Cars. “With our studios in California, Tokyoand
Como, we have established a creative basis for important
markets. They function as our seismograph for influences
emerging from art, culture and architecture.”

More than 10 000 kilometres from the
design centre in Sindelfingen, Carlsbad will offer around 25 employees
from a diverse mix of cultural backgrounds an ideal creative working
environment for the development of the Mercedes-Benz design language of
the day after tomorrow. On the one hand, it will display as many modern
international influences as necessary while, on the other, conveying a
clear image of its roots. Because a Mercedes will always be a Mercedes.